Iraq

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 2, 2015

National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad has officially reopened for first time in 12 years, in response to destruction of ancient artifacts in country's north by Islamic State militants; museum suffered extensive losses and looting following 2003 American invasion but has since recovered hundreds of items. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Islamic State undertakes rampage against Assyrian Christians of northeastern Syria, taking at least 300 people captive; release video of members destroying priceless works of ancient Assyrian art inside the Mosul Museum in Iraq, in what art historians describe as catastrophic loss; offensive is seen as latest attempt to eradicate or subordinate all opponents and minorities in self-declared caliphate, as well as to provoke anger in the West. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Thomas L Friedman Op-Ed column discusses three loose factions that make up Islamic State, which include volunteers, losers and misfits, local Sunni leaders and true ideologues; suggests that to defeat group its leadership must be wiped out, Muslims must be enlisted to discredit extremist versions of Islam, injustice and state failure in region must be ended and autonomous region for Iraqi Sunnis must be carved out. MORE

Feb. 24, 2015

Defense Sec Ashton B Carter says United States strategy for combating Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria is sound and that American military can balance risk of arming and training Syrian rebels. MORE

Feb. 22, 2015

Pentagon and intelligence agencies are in process of conducting assessment of difficulty of retaking Mosul, de facto capital of Islamic State group in Iraq, which is being held by an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 militants; assessment will play crucial role in major decision Pres Obama must make, and battle to retake city, which is second largest in the country, will be significant test of his administration's efforts to curb spread of terrorist group. MORE

Feb. 22, 2015

Senior official from American military's Central Command reveals to reporters intimate details of planned assault to retake Mosul, Iraq, from Islamic State; disclosure ignites fury among lawmakers, who say level of detail divulged risks lives of American, Iraqi and coalition forces. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

United States Central Command says push to retake Mosul, Iraq, from Islamic State extremists is planned for April or May 2015 and will involve 20,000 to 25,000 Iraq and Kurdish troops; unusually candid announcement, made at White House's counterterrorism conference, is intended deflect criticism that Iraq is lagging in effort to rout militants. MORE

Feb. 14, 2015

Attempts to bring about major offensive against Islamic State forces in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, are hampered by lack of readiness by Iraqi Army; push would require coordinated effort between government and local tribal forces, groups that have rarely worked together. MORE

Feb. 8, 2015

At least 47 people are killed in explosions in Baghdad hours before nighttime curfew that has been in place for more than a decade is lifted. MORE

Feb. 8, 2015

Badr Organization, Shiite militia, has been effective in fighting Islamic State in Iraq, but Sunnis are accusing them of forced displacement and summary killings. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Iraqi Prime Min Haider al-Abadi lifts nighttime curfew in Baghdad that has been in force for over a decade; move is part of Abadi's pledge to rebuild Iraq. MORE

Feb. 4, 2015

Op-Ed article by author Kenneth M Pollack warns that combination of military progress against Islamic State group in Iraq and lack of political progress could exacerbate conflict between Sunni populace and Shiite-dominated security forces in country; underscores importance of American involvement in brokering political reconciliation. MORE

Jan. 31, 2015

Islamic State militants carry out surprise attack on Iraqi Kurdish fighters near Kirkuk, killing Kurdish commander and five soldiers; attack on strategic city is one of Islamic State's most aggressive. MORE

Jan. 30, 2015

Iraqi government says they are investigating details of mass killing in which at least 72 Sunni men were allegedly executed by Shiite militia in village of Barwanah; witness accounts describe individuals being called out by name and then killed. MORE

Jan. 28, 2015

Flydubai jet is struck by gunfire as it lands at Baghdad International Airport, leaving one passenger, a six-year-old girl, slightly injured; airline and at least six others cancel flights to and from Baghdad. MORE

Jan. 28, 2015

Op-Ed article by Angelina Jolie declares that suffering she witnessed in camps for refugees from Syria and Iraq is worse than any she has encountered in her previous four visits to region since 2007; calls on international community to do more to help millions displaced and traumatized by conflict and war crimes committed by Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq; underscores need for peace settlement in Syria. MORE

Jan. 26, 2015

Bombings in commercial areas of Baghdad kill at least 15 people and wound dozens of others. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

Iraqi Prime Min Haider al-Abadi says steep drop in oil prices is posing serious challenge to his government's efforts to push back Islamic State militants; asks Western allies, including United States, to provide military weapons and equipment on credit and defer payment until Iraq's economy is on more solid footing. MORE

Jan. 20, 2015

Canadian Brig Gen Michael Rouleau says that Canadian troops stationed in Iraq to train and advise Iraqi forces were involved in firefight with Islamic State militants. MORE

Jan. 19, 2015

Iraqi officials and freed captives say Islamic State militants released around 200 members of country's Yazidi religious minority, most of them sickly or elderly, to relieve the burden of providing food and medicine for them. MORE

Jan. 18, 2015

Iraqi Prime Min Haider al-Abadi's promises of judicial reforms have gone largely unfulfilled, further upsetting Sunni minority who blame United States for rise of Islamic State. MORE

Jan. 18, 2015

Islamic State releases 350 members of Iraq's Yazidi minority, most of whom are elderly, disabled or sick. MORE

Jan. 17, 2015

Pres Obama and British Prime Min David Cameron, during meeting at White House, pledge to work together closely to confront growing extremist threat around the world; announce they will step up efforts to strengthen cybersecurity and training of Iraqi military to bolster fight against Islamic State. MORE

Jan. 9, 2015

Suicide attacks against security checkpoints and Shiite worshipers in Iraq kill at least 23 people. MORE

Jan. 7, 2015

Camp Taji journal; American forces, returning to Iraq in diminished numbers to help country repel Islamic State, have established themselves at two old bases; one is at Al Asad Air Base in Anbar Province, but at the base at Taji, about 20 miles north of Baghdad, much has been left undisturbed and seemingly frozen in time; soldiers are finding many personal items troops left behind in 2011. MORE

Jan. 7, 2015

Pentagon Press Sec Rear Adm John Kirby says United States is looking into reports of civilian casualties in Iraq and Syria that possibly happened due to American-led airstrikes against Islamic State. MORE

Jan. 6, 2015

Four heavily armed men trying to cross border from Iraq into Saudi Arabia are killed during clash with Saudi border patrol, along with three guards; incident could stoke fears of jihadist infiltrations, although it is unclear which group is responsible for attack. MORE

Jan. 2, 2015

Iraqi Health, Interior and Defense Ministries release figures showing that violence in country claimed lives of more than 15,000 civilians and security personnel in 2014, making it one of deadliest years since 2003. MORE

Dec. 31, 2014

United States training program for Iraqi Army forces who are going to engage Islamic State militants in spring offensive is taking shape; American officials saying Iraqi troops will be prepared by mid-February; American presence in Iraq is expected to grow to more than 3,000 personnel and will be solely focused on fight against Islamic State. MORE

Dec. 25, 2014

Baghdad Journal; small minority of Christians living in Iraq today struggle to celebrate Christmas there, with many nostalgically recalling large-scale celebrations from years past, before Islamic State militants began killing and driving them out; fewer than 400,000 remain out of estimated 1.5 million that lived in Iraq in 2003. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

Iraqi government is trying to promote sense of national unity among citizens, who increasingly identify as members of religious, ethnic or cultural groups rather than primarily as Iraqis; divisions among Sunnis, Shiites, Arabs and Kurds date back to founding of modern Iraq, but have worsened with inefficient or corrupt government and with tensions stirred by Islamic State militants. MORE

Dec. 19, 2014

Surge of American airstrikes helps Kurdish forces recapture territory in Iraq from Islamic State militants and opens path for autonomous Kurdish region to Mount Sinjar in west, near Syrian border. MORE

Dec. 16, 2014

Iraqi Prime Min Haider al-Abadi has worked to narrow divide between country's Shiite and Sunni Muslims in his first months in office, an encouraging sign to Iraqi and Western officials; in nearly every way, Abadi has been different leader that his predecessor Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, despite their common Shiite political bloc, but he still faces formidable challenges in unifying nation, both politically and on the battlefield. MORE

Dec. 16, 2014

Navy fighter jets aboard USS Carl Vinson in the Persian Gulf launch off the carrier daily to carry out attacks against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria; pilots and aircrews struggle with danger and boredom during six-hour round-trip missions. MORE

Dec. 14, 2014

Islamic State has imposed strict new order in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, while doing little to provide services; residents say there is no electricity, and spotty maintenance has made tap water undrinkable; many complain that group is too focused on social control. MORE

Dec. 12, 2014

Iraqi police in Nineveh Province find themselves largely abandoned in fighting Islamic State militants because Shiite-led government is fearful region's police officers, who are primarily Sunni, will sell weapons to jihadists or, worse, join them. MORE

Dec. 9, 2014

Iraqi officials are pushing for winter offensive against Islamic State militants in Mosul over American warnings. MORE

Dec. 9, 2014

American military officials say allies in campaign against Islamic State group have agreed to send 1,500 troops to join American soldiers and military personnel who are advising and training Iraqi and Kurdish troops. MORE

Dec. 6, 2014

Iraqi government's first big success against Islamic State, regaining of town Jurf al-Nasr in October, expelled militants but also all Sunni residents; Shiite security council prevents them from returning for at least eight to ten months, saying explosives left behind must be cleared; many Sunnis fear real reason for displacement may be an ethnic cleansing; fate of town may test commitment of newly formed Iraqi government to rise above sectarian politics. MORE

Dec. 5, 2014

Dhuluiya Journal; town is one of many Iraqi communities torn asunder by invasion of Islamic State, and although part of it successfully repelled the jihadists, its residents remain almost totally surrounded; young couple on opposite sides of enemy lines get married by smuggling the bride out of town by boat. MORE

Dec. 5, 2014

Lebanese officials continue to disagree with Iraqi officials over whether a woman they detained, identified by some as Saja al-Dilaimi, is wife of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of Islamic State jihadist organization; Iraqi officials say that woman was never married to Baghdadi and has relatives in a rival extremist group. MORE

Dec. 5, 2014

Dec. 4, 2014

Iran has begun taking more active military role in fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, highlighting unusual confluence of interests with United States; neither country is eager to acknowledge de facto nonaggression pact. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

Iraqi government reaches long-term agreement with autonomous Kurdish region to share oil wealth and military resources, helping reunite country in war against Islamic State; deal appears likely to curb momentum for independent Kurdish state, but soothing discord with Sunnis remains formidable challenge. MORE

Dec. 1, 2014

Pope Francis and his Orthodox Church counterpart Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew vow to work together to prevent exodus of Christians from Syria and Iraq, calling for constructive dialogue with Muslims to resolve international conflicts. MORE

Nov. 28, 2014

Pres Obama's policies on Syria and Islamic State remain contradictory, which some on both sides feel is damaging American standing in region; Syrians are angry that American airstrikes targeting insurgents also seem to be in support of Pres Bashar al-Assad, president United States is supposedly trying to ouster, and that US can defeat Islamic State without taking sides in Syria's civil war. MORE

{"type":"article","show_header_text":false,"header":"ARTICLES ABOUT IRAQ","query":"(geo like \"Iraq\" or des like \"Iraq War\") and tom!=\"Editorial\" and tom!=\"Correction\" and tom!=\"Obituary\" and tom!=\"paid death notice\" and hdl!=\"paid notice\" and tom!=\"Caption\" and tom!=\"Summary\" and tom!=\"Schedule\" and tom!=\"Letter\" and dsk!=\"Travel\" and dsk!=\"Escapes\" and dsk!=\"Dining\" and dsk!=\"Fashion\" and dsk!=\"Fashions\" and dsk!=\"Style\" and dsk!=\"Styles\" and dsk!=\"Society\" and dsk!=\"Home\" and dsk!=\"Home\/Style\" and dsk!=\"Living\" and dsk!=\"Beauty\" and dsk!=\"Design\" and dsk!=\"Theater\" and des!=\"Theater\" and dsk!=\"Movies\" and des!=\"Motion Pictures\" and des!=\"Movies\" and hdl!=\"Names of the Dead\"","search_query":"(glocations.contains:\"Iraq\" OR subject.contains:\"Iraq War\") AND -type_of_material:\"Editorial\" AND -type_of_material:\"Correction\" AND -type_of_material:\"Obituary\" AND -type_of_material:\"paid death notice\" AND -headline:\"paid notice\" AND -type_of_material:\"Caption\" AND -type_of_material:\"Summary\" AND -type_of_material:\"Schedule\" AND -type_of_material:\"Letter\" AND -news_desk:\"Travel\" AND -news_desk:\"Escapes\" AND -news_desk:\"Dining\" AND -news_desk:\"Fashion\" AND -news_desk:\"Fashions\" AND -news_desk:\"Style\" AND -news_desk:\"Styles\" AND -news_desk:\"Society\" AND -news_desk:\"Home\" AND -news_desk:\"Home\/Style\" AND -news_desk:\"Living\" AND -news_desk:\"Beauty\" AND -news_desk:\"Design\" AND -news_desk:\"Theater\" AND -subject:\"Theater\" AND -news_desk:\"Movies\" AND -subject:\"Motion Pictures\" AND -subject:\"Movies\" AND -headline:\"Names of the Dead\"","num_search_articles":"60","show_summary":true,"show_byline":true,"show_pub_date":true,"hide_thumbnails":false,"show_kicker":false,"show_title":false,"show_related_topics":true,"show_rad_links":true,"show_subtopics":true,"exclude_topics":"IRAQ;IRAQ WAR (2003- )","more_on_header":"MORE ON IRAQ AND:","alternate_index_subidx":"","show_thumbnails":true}

February 25, 2015, Wednesday

Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said Monday that the United States now needed to better use the assistance of other countries in the international coalition that has come together to fight the Islamic State.

As the country once again teeters toward sectarian warfare, we asked reporters from The New York Times — now on other beats, in other parts of the world — which of their stories from their time in Iraq have been resurfacing in their minds.

Multimedia

Nearly nine years of war in Iraq have produced a growing cadre of world-class, homegrown Iraqi news photographers. These are the stories of five of those photojournalists, with a sampling of their images.